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We are creators and experimenters, so over the years, in addition to our "all lavender" essential oil products, we have paired lavender with other sympathetic essential oils and fragrance oils to create a variety of pleasant blends. Generally, we find that lavender hides a bit, so usually the blends are five parts lavender and one or two parts other scents. If you want to experiment making blends yourself with your essential oils, you can start with this recipe and tweak it to your preference. Naming things is fun! Some of our blends have French-sounding names or what we refer to humorously as "Frenglish." (As you'll see in our family story there is a "French Connection" and it's also nice to put all those hours spent on high school French for use for something!) These eight blends are available in linen sprays, soy-wax candles and lovely lotion. They are as follows:

*June Perfume (Lavender & Honeysuckle) Created in 2017. In June the lavender blooms, and around the farm in a less auspicious place than the lavender field, honeysuckle blooms trail along the fence rows. So sweet. Brings back childhood memories. These two scents pair in an irresistible way.

L'air de Lavender (All Lavender) Simple favorite.

*Lavender Belle (Lavender, Lily of the Valley, & Gardenia) This is a fragrance homage to our lavender matriarch, Edith Williamson, whose favorite perfume is White Shoulders and who carried lily of the valley in her bridal bouquet. Created in 2014.

Lavande et Menthe (Lavender & Spearmint) Calms you down and wakes you up!

Lavender Sunshine(Lavender, Lemongrass & Sweet Orange) Created in 2010. Imagine standing in the lavender field on a sunny day. Loved by all!

Monsieur Lavender (Lavender & Patchouli) a masculine delineation, yes, but we made it for our sister-in-law, so obviously ladies like patchouli too!

*We believe in the healthful, natural and healing properties of essential oils and when we can use them exclusively. But in a some cases, the flowers we love do not produce essential oils, so we do use fragrance oils for those. Currently the fragrances we use are rose (Madame), vanilla (Lavender & Vanilla), Lily of the Valley & Gardenia (Lavender Belle) and honeysuckle (June Bloom).

‘How could such sweet and wholesome hoursBe reckoned but with herbs and flowers?’- Andrew Marvel

If so, than you may already know that we have 10-12 different varieties, all with their own special mixes of lavender and other floral scents. Each one is made with all natural ingredients and provides a way to add a nice fragrance to your house without the use of chemicals.

If you’ve been thinking of making your own spray – maybe you have a particular scent that you want to experiment with, or you want to make one of your favorite store-bought brand sprays more eco-friendly – than here is how we make ours to be all-natural with just the right amount of fragrance!

To begin, the items you will need to have a few items handy:

Spray Bottles and Caps

Essential Oil

Water

Vegetable Glycerin

Eye Dropper

Gallon Jug

Measuring Cups

Pouring Cylinder

Then, there is a bit of prep work.

If you are making sprays for the first time, you will need to purchase your preferred scents and experiment with their ratios. For the most part we use essential oil to scent our sprays, but in some cases when essential oil is not available to achieve a specific scent, we use fragrance oil. If you are using small amounts, these can be found at your local health food store. Larger quantities (like we use) can be purchased online through companies like Essential Wholesale online.

Experimenting with ratios can be a bit time consuming. Using a paper towel, add different drop amounts of various oils onto separate corners of the towel creating different mixes, and see which smells are most appealing to you. If you want to use lavender as one of your scents, we have found that you normally need 5x as much lavender as most other scents because it known as an undertone and its fragrance is easily overpowered.

Next, make sure you have spray bottles purchased. We get ours through SKS Bottle & Packaging, and we typically buy a small (4 oz.) and large (8 oz.) size. For smaller purchases, you can also check your local craft store.

Collect your water, vegetable glycerin and oil. Using your gallon jug, measuring cups and cylinder, mix the water and glycerin. Typically, our water to glycerin ratio is 9/10 water to 1/10 glycerin. The glycerin is added to prevent the ingredients from separating over time. Feel free to add the liquid to any size spray bottle, but know the mixture ratio will change depending on size.

The amount of essential oilor fragrance oil added is up to you. Depending on how potent you want your spray will tell you how much oil to add – the stronger the fragrance, the more oil. Use an eye dropper to put in your preferred amounts into your spray bottles. Be sure this is washed out after completion, as some oils as so strong they can eat away the rubber on top of the eye dropper over time!

After all of this has been completed – shake and enjoy! Good luck with your mixtures and happy spraying! (And for those of you who don't have the time to make your own, you can check out our different varieties in the online shop!)

*Many essential oils are clear but a few and some fragrance oils are darker in color. You might want to pretest using them on a piece of fabric you don't love!

Do you own a start-up home business? Are you looking to expand by leaving the interior of your house and giving retail a try, without a huge commitment?

Well, we tried it and want to share!

Seven Oaks Lavender Farm just recently ran a successful pop-up in Warrenton, Virginia. What is a pop-up you ask? The official dictionary definition describes it as “a store or other business that opens quickly in a temporary location and is intended to operate for only a short period of time.” Basically – you prep, you sell, you leave, that's it.

For those of you thinking of giving it a try or are wondering how much preparation goes into a successful pop-up, we’ve put together a collection of tips and how-to’s. Be sure to keep these things in mind when diving into the pop-up process (and remember, the prep work is the most time-consuming!)

Before- The Prep Work

The Space

1.Work backwards. Think about your preferred outcome of the pop-up and what you need to decide on in order to meet your expectations. How long do you want this event to last (a month, a week, or one-day event)? What do you want to sell and when you want to sell it? Be strategic in date and time of year, while keeping other nearby events in mind. Take advantage of holidays and any other miscellaneous calendar days that could drive more sales (Ex. We took advantage of “Small Business Saturday”).

2.Find an appropriate space. Look for empty storefronts and large retail spaces nearby. Many places like this are up for rent, or at least have a portion of space available (possibility of sectioning off a corner). One key to making a profit from the event is getting the space for as inexpensively as possible....free is even better!

3.Approach Landlord. Once finding an appropriate spot, approach the owner or landlord of the space to discuss the pop-up. Ask if they are open to the idea, what they will charge in rent, what the regulations are for using the space, etc. Have a price point in mind before going into the conversation.

4.It’s a Deal! Depending on the landlord, a space can be rented by something as simple as a handshake, or by a lengthier process of signing a lease and paying a security deposit (for blemishes, broken items, etc). You and any other vendors may need to provide proof of insurance to owner to safely cover what you are selling inside their space.

5.Pre-plan the space. Think about placement. Buy decorations, get crafty. Don’t wait until the last minute to think about décor. Even something as simple as a few balloons and a sign outside or seasonal eye-catching items in the storefront can make a huge difference in creating a space that has a professional and thought-out appearance. You want the space to be attractive and inviting to your customers while showcasing your products in their best light.

The People

6.Vendors. Decide if you want to fly solo or invite other businesses. Inviting other vendors is harder, but it usually attracts a wider audience. How to find others? Use the resources available to you - ask friends with their own businesses, use word of mouth, ask your area’s economic development authority for names of other local small businesses, research craft fairs and what vendors participate and call them, use buy fresh buy local guides, visit farmers markets - just to name a few. You want to choose vendors that enhance and coincide with your business without overlapping too much in product.

7.Think About Time and Energy. If you don’t have a lot of time and energy to put into the pop-up, go small and just sell your products. Having more vendors dramatically increases the amount of work you will have to do because the amount of organizing, contacting and working out details with each individual vendor.

8.Payment. When vendors agree to participate, ask them to pay their share of the rent up front....this will keep them from cancelling at the last minute and leaving you to pay their portion of the rent.

9.Keep staffing in mind. You may want help with set up and take down, but a key to getting sales is personally being there to talk to your customers. It provides them with a face to put with the name of your business, and you are the best person to show off your passion for your products.

The Details

10.Familiarize Yourself. Walk around to other shops on the street and talk to them about what you are doing. Ask if they’d be open to displaying any flyers or posters you make for the event in their storefront. If you are a caffeine-lover or like to go out to lunch, be sure you know in advance where the closest coffee shops and lunch shops are in order to make quick trips during lulls in crowds.

11.Advertise. Use social media. Some easy ways to do this are using Facebook ads and making a Facebook event page, offering a sale only available at the pop-up, and taking advantage of specials. Call your local paper and see if they will print an article or ad and put one on Craigslist as well. Be sure to tell all other vendors to do heavy social media advertising too so that your audience size doubles with each participating vendor.

12.Branding. Create a name for your event and specific artwork for posters that include date/time/address/vendors. It could also include a brief description of what a pop-up is and what products your pop-up is highlighting.

13.Product Strategy. Be strategic in selecting product to sell. If you are not able to leave supplies overnight for multiple-day events, be sure you choose products that are lightweight, portable and easy to set up and take down.

14.Payment. Decide what payment methods you will be offering to customers and be sure this is advertised. It helps to know where the closest ATM is in the event someone needs more cash in order to buy a product.

15.Design. Decide if you want to create some special attraction outside the store announcing the pop-up (balloons, sandwich board, etc.). Buy the day before so that you are not rushing around minutes before opening.

During- The Day Of

16.Early Bird. If you are the one in charge of the pop-up, get there at least an hour early on the start of the first day. Setting up always takes longer than you think, and some of the other vendors may have questions as they arrive.

17.Helpers. Make sure you have asked for help in advance if you have tables that are too heavy to carry alone or you have a large amount of product that needs to be unloaded. It’s best to be overly prepared with a few extra hands.

18.Remember the Extras. Remember to bring supplies like tape, paper towels, paper and pen, Kleenex, and cleaning supplies. You never know when you are going to need these items.

After- The Take Down

19.Return of the Helpers. If you had helpers for set-up, be sure to ask if they would also come back for take-down. At the end of the pop-up you will want everything to be packed away as quickly and efficiently as possible, and it is always good to have an extra set of hands.

20.Clean Up. Make sure you leave the space looking better than it was when you got it. Use the cleaning supplies you brought on the first day and be sure to sweep, mop, and run a wet towel over scuff-marks on the floor and walls.

We hope these were helpful tips! Be sure to comment or get in touch with us if you have any other questions regarding how to pop-up!

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